Published on Dec. 28 | Updated on Dec. 29
HAMMONTON, N.J. (AP/ KYW Newsradio) — Two pilots have died after their helicopters crashed into one another midair in Atlantic County, New Jersey, on Sunday afternoon, officials said.
Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel said rescuers responded to a report of an aviation crash around 11:25 a.m. on Sunday near Basin Road and White Horse Pike in Hammonton.
“One went down in the field, and one went down right into the treeline. They’re very close together,” he said. “They were up in the air probably a matter of minutes, and the crash occurred in very close proximity.”
Video from the scene shows a helicopter spinning rapidly to the ground. Police and fire crews extinguished flames that engulfed one of the helicopters.
The Federal Aviation Administration described the crash as a midair collision between an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and an Enstrom 280C helicopter over Hammonton Municipal Airport. Only the pilots were on board each aircraft.
The pilots have been identified as 65-year-old Kenneth Kirsch and 71-year-old Michael Greenberg. Friel said in a statement that Kirsch, of Carney’s Point, was pronounced dead at an area hospital after being flown there, while Greenberg, of Sewell, died at the crash site.
Sal Silipino, owner of a cafe near the crash site, said the pilots were regulars at the restaurant and would often have breakfast together. He said he and other customers watched the helicopters take off before one began spiraling downward, followed by the other.
“It was shocking,” he said. “I’m still shaking after that happened.”
Hammonton resident Dan Dameshek told NBC10 that he was leaving a gym when he heard a loud snap and saw two helicopters spinning out of control.
“Immediately, the first helicopter went from right side up to upside down and started rapidly spinning, falling out of the air,” Dameshek said. “And then it looked like the second helicopter was OK for a second, and then it sounded like another snap or something ... and then that helicopter started rapidly spinning out of the air.”
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, Friel said.
Investigators will likely first look to review any communications between the two pilots and whether they were able to see each other, said Alan Diehl, a former crash investigator for the FAA and NTSB.
“Virtually all midair collisions are a failure to what they call ‘see and avoid,’” Diehl said. “Clearly they’ll be looking at the out-of-cockpit views of the two aircraft and seeing if one pilot was approaching from the blind side.”
Although it was mostly cloudy at the time of the crash, winds were light and visibility was good, according to AccuWeather.